Clockwork: Fate Through Numerals
by Weener1
Summary: Chiyo has discovered the long sought after power of numbers. This power opens vastly unstable passages to alternate dimensions. No matter how hard she tries to prevent this, leave it to Tomo to lead them into a brand new experience.
1. Thoughts and Symbols

**Yep, you guessed it, another tale of vast strangeness featuring our favourite girls. Don't worry Kaorin! You're in it too!**

**Kaorin: DAMMIT!**

**Hope this is a good start.**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

This story is but a warning. There are things which lie within the grasp of humanity, yet the secrets they harbour still await a mind great enough to unravel them. Not even the great alchemists and mathematicians of ancient times would have thought a girl of twelve would discover that the barrier between realms is but a fragile one.

There is power in numbers. A vast power that Chiyo-chan had long respected. She had always found mathematics to be entrancing and filled with it's own volitile energy.

"To take symbols, numbers, and create anything from them.", she always told herself.

For the world runs on numbers. Time, material things, even you and I are assigned an age based on numbers. The world is one immense mathematical puzzle waiting to be solved. Chiyo-chan had taken on that mission to read all the literature she could find on quantum mechanics and alternative mathematical formulas. She read modern accounts first, staying up late playing with algorithms and theorems. They each explained pieces of the puzzle but not the whole.

Not to be put down, she delved further into more ancient literature where she found the universe explained in terms more mystical than their more contemporary counterparts. A book written in the Middle Ages defined that the universe we see is not stangnant and singular, but instead composed of various interlocking dimensions with their own forms of population and organization.

The secrets could be revealed through mathematical numbers and symbols that were forgotten with the advent of religious persecution of the books and were later not taken seriously by modern society.

With great anticipation and curiosity, Chiyo began to write the formula that was said to breach the barrier between dimensions on a piece of paper. A few symbols in, she stopped, feeling a wave of nausea pass through her. Shaking it off as nerves, she continued writing. Upon completing the final portion of the formula she jumped back from her desk, for it felt as if an electrical current had passed through her. In her flight, she had dropped her pencil upon the paper and she watched in horror as it slowly disappeared into thin air.

She shook her head, disbelieving.

"I can't let anyone get a hold of this.", she proposed, placing her hand on the paper.

She held back a scream as she noticed her fingertips fading. Quickly, she pulled her hand back and sighed in relief as her fingers were whole once more. Steeling herself, she tried to move the paper with another penicl only to have this one fade as well. Her fingers were almost caught up in teh disappearing act as well.

It seemed as if she had called forth a force she could not control and she knew she would have to pay for her error. Slumping to the ground, she began to weep. And in weeping, she fell into sleep.

"Chiyo! Chiyo, are you awake?", called a voice.

Chiyo awoke with a start to see her father standing in the doorway with a smile.

"Oh, good morning, Daddy!", Chiyo said, hopping to her feet.

"You must have fallen asleep while studying.", her father said, indicating the books and papers around the room.

"Yes, I guess I did.", Chiyo said nervously.

"I woke you because your friends that you invited over are here.", he said.

Chiyo stood in shock. She had totally forgotten that she had invited her friends over for a weekend sleepover.

"Can you please send them up here, Daddy?", she asked sweetly.

"Of course.", he replied, leaving.

Chiyo proceeded to rush about the room, putting all her books on alternative mathematics in a safe, out-of-sight spot. Yet there was one thing she could not dispose of. She sighed, looking at the paper. She would just have to take her chances.

"Hey Chiyo-chan! How YOU doooooin'?", Tomo screamed as she entered.

"Hello everyone!", Chiyo happily chirped as she looked at her friends.

Tomo had traipsed into the room first, followed by Yomi who kept her from wrecking the place. Osaka and Kagura came in next, conversing about the nuances of alien brain cells. Sakaki entered next, happily petting a panting Mr. Tadakichi. Last but certainly not least came a heavily blushing Kaorin who took up standing next to Sakaki as often as humanly possible.

"Man, I'm always amazed at how organized your room is, Chiyo-chan.", Yomi commented.

"Organized? Look at her desk! That looks pretty messy to me!", Tomo said, waltzing over and carelessly flipping through the papers that lie upon the desk.

"Put that stuff down, Tomo. It's not yours.", Yomi said to her friend.

"What the hell is this? Is this our math homework?", Tomo said as she held forth the ancient text Chiyo had written.

Chiyo made a grab for the paper, but Tomo found this funny and hopped to the center of the room holding the paper just out of reach.

"Tomo! Please, drop that paper!", Chiyo screamed, tears filling her large eyes.

"Oh, and why would that be? So I can't copy it?", Tomo chided.

"No! Tomo, please...", Chiyo screamed before being interrupted by an even louder yell.

"What the hell!? TOMO!", Yomi cried.

Confused, Tomo looked at her raised hand. Her forearm had totally disappeared up to the elbow and it wasn't stopping there. Terrified, Tomo ran aimlessly about the room as the others tried to stop her.  
Sakaki eventually captured the paniced girl in a bearhug, yet even Sakaki could not stop the both of them from quickly dissipating. The others watched in terror as the only thing left behind was a wavy distortion that resembled heat rising off an asphalt road.

Chiyo weeped tears of absolute grief, knowing that she was the cause of this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Without so much as a twinge of feeling, TOmo seemed to reform in a vast lake of sand. Golden dunes stretched before her, yet in the distance she could see the forms of towers silhouetted against the blue sky.

"Hm...cool.", was all she could say.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakaki also watched the world transform itself from Chiyo's room to a grassy plain. Trees dotted the healthy meadow while great pyramidal structures rose what seemed like a few kilometers from her position. Her insides roiled with anxious worry but her composure was solid on the outside. Realizing that there seemed to be no immediately visable route back she decided to move, albeit with extreme caution, towards the structures.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What...do we do?", Kaorin asked, practically hyperventilating.

"Can't we just go in after them?", Kagura asked.

Chiyo sadly shook her head.

"I...don't know where we might end up. The formula unlocks a dimension based on each individual. We all might end up somewhere totally different if we did go after them.", Chiyo explained.

"Where did you learn this stuff, Chiyo-chan? That might find us an answer.", Yomi said, sweating in worry even as her voice carried an air of composure.

Chiyo nodded and retrieved her books.


	2. A Page of Hope

"You must be more of a genius than I thought because I can't understand any of this.", Yomi said, ruffling the pages of one of Chiyo's books.

"Yea, I don't get this at all.", Kagura agreed, scratching her head.

Chiyo heard none of these comments. She was engrossed in her own text, flipping the pages searching for any way to reverse what she had done. She gasped when she came across a formula that would return the user to his or her proper dimensional plane.

"What? Did you find something!?", Kaorin asked, rushing over to Chiyo.

"Sort of. Only problem is that Sakaki and Tomo would have to posess this formula to get back here."

"But you said...", Kagura began.

"I know!", shouted Chiyo. "I know I said we can't go in! I know we can't help!", Chiyo began to cry and slumped to the floor, defeated.

"It's ok, Chiyo. I'm sure if we keep looking we'll find a way.", Yomi said comfortingly.

"No... We've been through all my books...it's taken hours. This is really our only chance.", Chiyo answered, sniffling.

"Hey...didn't 'cha say that the math sends ya to a dimension based on the person?", Osaka asked.

Chiyo nodded, tears still falling.

"Well, what if we just think like Tomo and Sakaki do. Won't we end up where they are if we do?", suggested Osaka with a glazed expression.

In sublime terror and amazement everyone was quite speechless.

"That...might work...", Chiyo said.

"Osaka...why are you always smart when we need you to be?", Yomi exclaimed.

"I dunno...I just do a lotta thinkin'..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomo had lost count of how long she had been wandering towards the far off spires. The sun hadn't moved from the sky, but it had felt like hours since her trek began. The intense heat and lack of hydration caused images before her to blur together as if underwater.

_'I need water badly!'_, she thought as she lumbered over the crest of a dune. To her dismay the vantage point didn't make the spires seem any closer.

Shuffling down the other side, her legs gave way and she fell onto the gritty ground cover. Sand sprayed into her hair and covered her clothing. The sand seemed to swirl moments before she blacked out.

"She's lucky..."

"Look at her eyes..and her skin. Must be from very far away."

Tomo's eyes slowly opened to find two amorphous blobs standing over her. The blobs focused as her eyes cleared into two men. Each wore a white head wrapping, not unlike the turbans she had seen on TV, and a long, loose white shirt with matching pants that billowed just above the ankles. They looked very much like native Arabians.

That portion was not so strange to her, what was odd was when the men spoke it was not in Japanese but Tomo could understand every word they said.

"Ah! You're awake.", the man on the left said.

"Holy crap!", Tomo exclaimed when she realized that she was lying on a bed woven from reeds covered by a thin woolen blanket inside a mudbrick building with two strange men.

She quickly got to her feet, but her head began to swim once more and she fell back onto the bed.

"Now, now. Just lay down and get some rest. We won't hurt you.", one of the men said in a soothing tone.

"Yes, we found you nearly on death's door! You have to still drink more.", the other man said, bringing a clay jug of water to her.

They watched as Tomo quickly downed the drink and followed that up with a needless, undignified belch.

"Thanks guys!", she said.

"You are welcome. But I would like to know...what is a foreigner like you doing so far out into the desert alone?", one asked.

"And a child at that.", the other chirped in.

"Hey! I'm not a child! I'm a young adult, thank you very much!", Tomo exclaimed, feeling much better.

"You should not be wandering the desert alone, no matter what your age!", the man countered.

"Who are you? My mom?", Tomo chided.

"We saved your life, girl! You ungrateful bitch!", the other man spat.

It hit Tomo right there. They HAD saved her gods forsaken LIFE. She should at least show a bit more thanks.

"Thank you...", she whispered.

The two men nodded.

"But I'm sure I could have done it myself anyhow!", she couldn't resist saying.

"Fiesty I see.", the one man said with a smile. "What is your name?"

"Tomo Takino...how about you?"

"I am Atta.", the man on the right said.

"I'm Cyrus.", the other man responded.

"Nice to meet ya!", Tomo said before looking around the room. The room was quite bare save for a few sleeping mats, clay jugs of food and water and a few ancient looking tools.

"Where is this?", she asked.

"Poor girl.", Cyrus shook his head. "Did you forget your destination?"

"Destination? I came here by accident!", Tomo gestured as she spoke.

"No one comes to Persepolis by accident.", Atta anwered.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I have an idea.", Chiyo proposed.

The others looked at her expectantly.

She tore a page from the book she was holding and handed it to Kaorin along with a blank sheet as well.

"I think we should split up. Kaorin-san and Kagura-san can look for Sakaki while Yomi-san and I can look for Tomo.", she said and walked up to Osaka.

"Osaka-san you have a very importnat job. You need to stay here and make sure this opening doesn't close until we're back ok?", Chiyo said to the spacey girl.

"Gotcha!", Osaka said with a salute.

They four other girls regarded the portal sullenly.

"So what do I do with this?", Kaorin asked, motioning to the paper Chiyo had handed her.

"When you find Sakaki simply copy that formula onto the other piece and it should send you all back here safe and sound.", Chiyo explained.

"Are we ready now?", Kagura asked.

"Yes, but please be careful! You never know where they might have ended up.", Chiyo answered.

"Ok! I'll make sure to save Sakaki!", Kaorin exclaimed.

"You mean 'we'll' right?", Kagura said, eyes narrowed.

"I guess we have to think like Sakaki, right?", Kaorin said.

"Yes, simply think about what she would think about and step in.", Chiyo answered.

_'Think cool, Kaorin! Think cool!'_, Kaorin thought to herself. She filled her mind with images of Sakaki running and beating everyone in volleyball.

_'Kick ass stuff! Cool and collected like Sakaki'_, thought Kagura who filled her mind with sports and flaming car crashes.

The girls nodded to one another, and with locked arms, stepped through the portal and quickly disappeared.

"Be careful.", Chiyo whispered, wringing her hands.

"Ok, Chiyo. Our turn.", Yomi said, staring intently at the wispy opening.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Emperor!", the armoured man said while kneeling before the silver throne. "We have brought the captive."

"Bring him foward.", the emperor commanded, his voice bored from the daily chore of asessing prisoners. His attention perked though when he saw the person being pushed to the front. One guard hit the black haired girl with the butt of his halberd which sent her sprawling before his throne. She kept her eyes facing the ground, which heavily annoyed the emperor.

"Look at me, girl!", he commanded.

The girl slowly lifted her face to meet his gaze with her deep blue eyes. The emperor was aghast, although outwardly he would not show it. He clenched his fingers and spoke.

"Send her back to the dungeons, I wish to interrogate her later."

As she was lead away he had time to contemplate the frescos that emblazoned the inner walls of his throne room. Images that show a woman with long black hair victorious over the Demmu.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Jay: So how's it feel to be a hero?**

**Kaorin: When I find Sakaki...I'll save her! Not Kagura! (swoons)**

**Jay: Yes, the important word there is 'when'.**

**Kaorin: (cocks her pistol) and I WILL find her...RIGHT!?**

**Jay: Now, now. We'll see about that.**

**Extra points to anyone who knows where Tomo is!**


	3. Thus Spells the Doom of Worlds

**I'd like to take this moment to say a few things. First, I'd like to thank all you excellent, splendid reviewers that have reed and reviewed quite a few of my stories up to this point. You know who you are. I very much appreciate your time and effort to read and comment about my tales, it makes everything all the more worthwhile. Secondly, super credit to Kiyohiko Azuma for making all this writing I do possible in the first place, I have him to blame for my obsession! But that's a good thing. Thirdly, I might as well fill up space with another, uninterrupted reading from Kaorin's journal.**

**(ahem)**

**May 17th**

**Sakaki-sama...the weekend reprieve from viewing your glorious form has left me wanting more. Today I recieved that gift as I watched you stare out the window...what I would give to enter your thought if only for a moment. Do you think of me, Sakaki-sama? I think of you. You never leave my thoughts. Forever you shall stay in my heart. FOrever shall you be my one true love. Sakaki-sama, one day you will be mine and mine only. One day I will tell you how I feel, how my heart and body long for you. One day I will show you the true meaning of love.**

**Kaorin: (busts in from the basement) DEATH AWAITS YOU!**

**Jay: Olaf...please show this girl her room. (walks off as a massive Norwegian pro wrestler wrangles Kaorin into her room and locks her inside.)**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hmm...", Osaka shifted her gaze to look at the portal from another angle. From where she was sitting it seemed to her as if the opening was slowly enlarging over the past fifteen minutes. Not much enlargement but it was indeed spreading across the floor.

A knock at the door broke her from her contemplations.

_(For anyone who was wondering: Contemplation #1: The portal was opened not by mathematics but by Chiyo's dastardly pigtails! Contemplation #2: Leaving her behind was part of the pigtails plans to extract information from her after her friends were all lost in another world. Contemplation #3: The opening seems to be getting larger...hmmm)_

"I have some snacks for you all if you'd like", said the slightly muffled voice of Chiyo's father from behind the door.

"Uh...uh...Don't come in!", Osaka answered hurredly.

"Is something the matter?", he asked.

"N..no. Umm..I'm naked! Don't come in!", she had thought of the first bright idea that had popped into her head.

"What? Where are the others?", Chiyo's father asked.

"They went out to umm...look for worms...", Osaka lied.

Chiyo's father turned and walked off, shaking his head, yet with a smile on his face.

"Those girls are wierd."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yomi and Chiyo suddenly found themselves surrounded by acres of sand. In the fading sunlight it looked at first to be a totally desolate land.

"Oh my...", said Chiyo, letting her gaze wander.

"Might this really be the place?", Yomi asked no one in particular.

"I hope so...You did think like Tomo didn't you?", Chiyo asked expectantly.

"Of course! It's easier than you would think after knowing her for so long.", saying this brought on a fresh wave of anxiety in the girl. Inwardly, she was truly terrified for her best friend.

"So...if you were Tomo where would you go?", Chiyo asked, scanning the horizon.

Yomi shaded her eyes from the still-bright sun and gazed into the distance.

"I think I can see towers.", she said.

"Where?", Chiyo asked excitedly, jumping up and down which almost made Yomi want to hug her for being 'so damn cute!'

"Off in the distance there. You can see them as shadows against the sun.", she said, pointing at the pinnacle towers.

"Ah! I see it!", Chiyo exclaimed. "Maybe we should head there? Tomo would have probably headed to that city right?"

"We can only hope.", Yomi sighed as they began their trek.

One hundred miles away the assembled forces of one Macedonian regent had turned their sights upon Persepolis.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kaorin and Kagura fell onto ground, hard, unforgiving ground.

"Damn, rough landing.", Kagura pointed out as she stood up in the rather cool air of the environment on the other side of the portal.

"Wow...could this really be where Sakaki-san is?", kaorin questioned, observing the pine forest a short ways away and the snow-capped mountain crags in the distance.

"Why wouldn't it be?", Kagura said smoothly. "You thought cool, didn't you?"

"Of course I did! No one knows how to think like Sakaki-san better than me!", Kaorin raged defensively.

"Yea, whatever.", Kagura waved off the protesting girl. "Where do you think she could have gone?"

"Hmm...if I were Sakaki-san I would...", Kaorin whispered as she turned 180 degrees before noticing a definate sign of life.

"Look behind those trees!", she shouted, pointing above a copse of firs.

Where she pointed smoke rose from behind the trees and wafted away on the breeze.

"Smoke?", Kagura said jauntily.

"Yes! Like a campfire!", said Kaorin, her excitement making the words merge together to be almost unintelligable.

"Hey! You might be right!", Kagura said, slapping Kaorin on the back enough to almost make her lose her footing.

The two girls quickly stepped across the short tundra grass and entered the small forest.

"Dark in here...", Kagura commented.

"Just keep going straight.", Kaorin commanded.

"Yea, yea, but..", Kagura stopped speaking and turned ninty degrees to stand at the ready.

"What?", Kaorin asked.

"I thought I just saw someone."

"Where?"

"Standing behind that log.", Kagura said, pointing to a mossy downed tree.

"Your...imagination can play tricks on you in a place as creepy as this.", Kaorin said, becoming anxious and developing an invoulentary shiver.

"Yeah...",Kagura agreed, not wanting to think about the alternatives.

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_As quoted in the Mathematica Obscura:_

_"With the formulas written in this tome, one can, with enough willpower, sever the barrier between the physical world and that of the others. Yet a warning still applies. When one breaks the fragile barrier, the uncontrolled tear is at the mercy of the unforgiving tides of the universe. So, I warn thee, do not open the path between worlds. The flow of time itself is disrupted. Two time passages cannot exist on the same material plane. Thus spells the doom of worlds."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	4. Sonnenuntergang

**Thanks to everyone who reviews this. I can't thank you enough for your support.**

**(hands out Kaorin Fan Club T-shirts and bumper stickers)**

**Kaorin: (eyes narrowed) Let me guess...no new members?**

**Jay: Quite the contrary actually.**

**Kaorin: (blushing) Like who?**

**Jay: Oh, just the people who review my stories.**

**Kaorin: Gah...all GUYS! (gags)**

**Jay: Oh, and I have an application here from someone named Sakaki.**

**Kaorin: (brightens up) LET ME SEE!**

**Jay: If it's worth the cleaning of all the toilets in Grand Central Station.**

**Kaorin: YES!!**

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Hey! This stuff is stale!", Tomo complained as she munched on the bread Atta and Cyrus had given her.

"It's all we have...", Cyrus said before distractedly walking over to the door and looking down the street in both directions.

"Is something wrong? ...Where is everyone going?", Atta asked, walking over to Cyrus and noticing the massive exodus of people moving toward the center of the city..

"The army is marching.", Cyrus indicated the massive force assembled in the courtyard of the temple dedicated to Ahura Mazda not far from the house.

"Wow! Where can I get a spear like that guy has!?", Tomo exclaimed, poking her head out between the two men.

With a mix of curiosity and worry Atta stopped a woman in the street.

"Why is the army preparing?"

"Scouts returned with word of the Macedonian army approaching.", she explained quickly before scurrying off with her basket of leeks.

"Who are the Macedonians?", Tomo asked, stepping into the sunlight dressed in a new set of desert-wear the men had given her. She refused to wear the turban though, saying it 'ruined her style'.

"Enemies of our empire since many ages ago.", Atta droned, a hint of malice in his voice.

"So, is the army gonna go out and kick their ass?", Tomo asked, hoping to at least get to see the action.

Cyrus shook his head.

"This is a defensive battle. Tonight we fight for Persepolis and the empire!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakaki had been cramped into the cell for hours she could not count. All she could do was lay prone and hope for rescue. There was no way her rather slender body would be able to break through the metal bars holding her in. Footsteps approaching wakened her to the arrival of the tall,robed man she had seen on the throne earlier along with two guards. The regal-looking man ordered the cell to be opened and one of the guards produced a set of fragile looking keys and opened the door for the man to be let inside.

He stood above Sakaki and appraised her with dark eyes.

"What is your name?", he intoned.

Sakaki stayed silent. She didn't wish to speak at all. She was terrified.

"Tell me your name.", the man repeated.

"Sakaki...", she muttered.

"Sakaki, I would like to welcome you to the Court of Telluria. I am Emperor Dismildan III.", the man bowed deeply to the girl.

Sakaki simply stared in shock at the emperor. She did not understand why she would be thrown in a dungeon and then welcomed warmly by the emperor himself. Yet, she muttered a thanks and went back to brooding on what consequences this may lead to.

"Now please, let these men escort you to your suite.", Dismildan said with a sweeping arm gesture towards the open cell door and the awaiting guards.

Sakaki slowly exited the cell disbelieving what was occuring to her. Dismildan followed close behind as the two escorts led them up a set of stairs into the palace proper. Sakaki took the time to observe the beautiful artwork the palace contained. The roof was muraled with scenes of battle and victory across its many sweeping arches. Even the floor hel frescos of other scenes from what she assumed was religion or folklore. Statues of a woman clad in armour, her hair sweeping back as she struck a battle pose stood in alcoves along the hallway walls. Every inch of the palace was emblazoned with myriad works of art that made Sakaki blush at their grandeur.

"I see you're enjoying the artwork.", Dismildan commented, smiling through his short, blonde beard.

"Oh, yes very much. This place is very beautiful.", she responded.

"It was built by my grandfather.", Dimildan mused. "Each room tells a part of an ancient legend."

"What legend?", Sakaki asked as they continued to walk.

"The legend says that one day a woman from the Outerworld will come forth, and after three trials, will save Telluria from her enemies."

"That sounds interesting.", Sakaki answered, looking at the gilt engraved door they came to a stop in front of.

"Ah! Here is your room.", the emperor said, opening the door to reveal a finely decorated room with three massive chests of drawers and a four post bed with copious amounts of bedsheets set high atop it like a giant comfort-mountain. Upon the walls were beutiful paintings of that ancient tale.

"This place is...amazing...", Sakaki said, taking in the width and breadth of the room.

The emperor smiled happily at her reaction.

"Supper will be served to you soon. Please try and get some rest.", he said and closed the door.

Outside he paused next to the soldiers that had served as escorts.

"Strike tonight. I want her dead by morning."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kagura had turned her back for only a moment and Kaorin had run off. She heard the girl's footsteps rustling through the undergrowth which served as a means to follow her. As the footsteps grew closer she began to call out.

"Dammit Kaorin! Don't run off like that."

Soon, she came upon the girl standing in a clearing looking disheaveled and irritated.

"I'm just trying to find Sakaki-san, Ka-gu-ra!", she hissed.

"We're in this together. Why do you think I'm competing with you or something?", the taller girl asked.

Kaorin regarded the girl with angry eyes.

"I see how you look at Sakaki-san! I see how you try and spend soooooo much time with her!", she accosted with a pointed finger.

"What!? I compete with her! She's my rival!", Kagura said, smirking a bit.

"Yeah...you say that now!", Kaorin said, scurrying off once more into the forest.

"Oh, for the love of...Kaorin!", Kagura said, running after the hysterical girl.

She spotted her once more, standing at the edge of the forest, staring.

"What's the matter?", Kagura asked.

Kaorin pointed to where the smoke they spotted earlier was eminating from. Before them was a small encampment of hide huts and men sitting before a fire, dressed in furry pelts with axes and spears set beside them.

"Could this be...where Sakaki is?", Kagura asked.

She looked down at Kaorin to notice a strange look in her eyes. It was the look she associated with Kaorin's bouts of 'insanity'.

"Umm...maybe Sakaki didn't come this way.", Kagura said anxiously. "Maybe we should try another direction. Usually, she was gung-ho about action. But those men did not look anywhere near friendly.

"If Sakaki-san is in danger...I will rescue her.", kaorin spoke a monotone voice as she slowly advanced towards the camp, eyes narrowed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_As quoted in the Mathematica Obscura:_

_"When worlds cross, no mortal being can exist. Yes, time can be altered but only within the boundries. The boundries can be broken, but not distended. We may pass through, but we are trapped. The bleeding of one world into the next spells nothing but destruction upon multiple levels. Do not play with fate, young scholor. This tome can bea great ally, but in the wrong hands may lead towards the damnation of the innocent."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_


	5. One Down Two to Go

**Is it strange that I actually made a Kaorin Fan Club T-shirt?**

**Kaorin: It's strange if you do it!**

**Jay: Fine, I'll just make one for Kimura too.**

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Osaka no longer stared at the distortion. She stared through it. Within the wavy complexes of the warp she could see images of landscapes that changed from time to time. Desert, brook-fed meadows, mountains and conifer forests. Images cycled by as she stared, transfixed by the beauty and strangeness of it all. She had the bizzare feeling that what she was seeing she wasn't ever suppsoed to see. Like some forbidden jewel of knowledge that no human was meant to posess.

"Wonder where everybody is...", she mused and returned to her gazing.

Even though she kept her eyes glued to the distortion she did not notice it creeping, larger and larger with every passing moment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With a soft grunt Kagura tugged Kaorin back into the forest by the collar of her shirt.

"Dammit! We can't just walk into places like this!", she hissed at the girl.

Kaorin snarled angrily at the other.

"Do you even care about what happens to Sakaki-san?"

"Of course I care, but I'd rather stay alive in the process!", Kagura said, keeping her voice low.

Kaorin changed her expression to one of simple discontent and huffed.

"Fine, what do _you_ suggest?"

"For one, how do we even know Sakaki is in that camp?", Kagura questioned.

"Where else would she be?", Kaorin retorted.

"She's smart! Maybe she went around the camp or walked the other way when she saw they had weapons!", Kagura had raised her voice unknowingly and only realized it when the sharp snapping of a branch caught her attention.

The girls' eyes followed the sound to see a group of three tall men dressed in gray wolf pelts wielding battleaxes standing but a few meteres from them, each one grinning.

With screams, the girls tried to run but did not get far before they were literally scooped off their feet by the men who had grabbed each one around the waist. They unceremoniously hauled the girls over their shoulders, kicking and screaming, back to the encampment.

The men tossed them into the center of the small town which was quickly filled by people filing out of their tents, simply staring at the girls.

The girls cringed in horror. Never before had they felt such fear, it simply rolled through them and disabled any action they wished to make. All they could do was cower together under the malicious eyes of the all-male congregation.

"What shall we do with you?...", one of their bearded captors said as he paced before them.

A wordless suggestion seemed to pass between all assembled as each grinned and laughed in turn until the entire faction was erupting in contemptuous laughter.

The red haired man who spoke earlier squatted in front of them, the same horrid grin plastered on his face.

"After supper.", he said. "Tie them for now. It's much more fun on a full stomach."

The group laughed raucously once more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Macedonian army slammed against the walls of Persepolis like an unforgiving wave. Many fell in the first moments of battle as the forces met on horseback, the attackers throttling the defenders in order to pass the barred gates of the great city.

Amongst the rampant confusion within and without, two girls running through the streets were barely noticed.

"Tomo! TOMO!", Yomi screamed as she ran, holding the hand of the now-crying Chiyo.

They had arrived in the city two hours earlier as night was just falling. The city was far too large to simply spot Tomo amongst the vast swarms of people so, when the army struck, they were trapped and left to screaming in hopes that they would garner the attention of their rather wild friend.

Frantic people ran through the streets as Yomi and Chiyo retired into an alley between two houses in order to catch their breath.

Chiyo sniffled through her tears.

"We're going to die here!"

Yomi pat the hysterical girl on the head as the yelling became screaming, screams of the dying.

She held Chiyo close and covered the younger girl's ears as she heard the horrible sound of iron tearing through flesh.

She wiped the tears that came to her eyes so that she could see the fleeing people that ran past the alley entrance. Many that ran by had their simple white robes stained crimson with blood. Yet, even though many passed by, one person caught Yomi's eye immediately. Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught for a moment before she yelled as loud as she dared.

**"TOMO!"**

The called-for girl turned and waved as she came slowly down the alley.

"Hey Yomi! And Chiyo too! Are you having as much fun as I am!?", she asked with a carefree laugh.

"TOMO! GET OVER HERE!", Yomi snarled.

"Please, Tomo! Please come here quickly!", Chiyo pleaded.

"Wait a sec. I have to say goodbye to these guys I met.", Tomo said.

"No, Tomo! We need to leave _now_!", Yomi screamed.

The sounds of battle grew closer. The screams of the wounded and dying grew louder.

"Aww, c'mon! Can't I just kick some ass first?"

"No, we..."

"No! You can't change history, Tomo! The past needs to stay how it is!", Chiyo interjected.

"The past? I thought this was just..."

"Tomo! _Now!",_ Yomi shouted.

"Fine...", Tomo said sarcastically.

As the girl approached, Chiyo began to write the formula out onto the paper she had brought with them. Her shivering hands made the task more difficult than it should have been.

Yomi grabbed Tomo's hand as Chiyo finished writing the script.

"Oh, Yomi! How bold!", Tomo chided.

The last words that echoed through Persepolis before the three girls faded away were:

**"Shut up!"**

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The warp distortion fluctuated.

"Huh?", Osaka said as she noticed the images becoming twisted and out of proportion. The portal then seemed to 'shut down' as the images went blank for a moment before Tomo, Yomi and Chiyo reappeared in the room.

"Ah!", said one happy Ayumu Kasuga as her friends returned from their inpromptu 'trip'. "Hey Tomo! I like yer new shirt!"

"Isn't it cool!? It's called a 'shalwar' apparently.", Tomo said, turned around like a model on a runway.

"Where are the others?", Yomi panted, exhausted.

"I dunno.", Osaka said with a shrug.

"They're not back yet!?", Chiyo screamed in horror.

She scampered to her books and paged through them quickly.

_'There has to be something in here...'_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_As quoted in the Mathematica Obscura:_

_"Opening the passage is not the difficult part. Difficulty comes when one washes to disband the passage. I cannot describe the harm that can come from many attempts to destroy a passage once created. For, like living things, they feed. Not on animal or mineral but on thoughts. Dimensions are nothing more than levels of thinking seperated by milestones of the mind itself."_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**Hmm...I wonder why I made Kagura the 'voice of reason'. Oh, well someone needs to take care of Kaorin.**

**I was looking at my pageviews today and I realized that "The Battle of Thermopylae" and "Azumanga Epica" have gotten nearly the same amount of views! And over one thousand at that! I'd like to thank everyone who has viewed/continues to view those stories. You all have made them my most popular ones (gets a tear in his eye) You are all much appreciated.**


	6. The Landing

Chiyo began to scribble frantically upon a piece of paper. 

"Did you find something?", asked Yomi with uncontrolled excitement.

"Maybe.", she responded without looking up. "I'm combining parts of different formulae to try and make something that will keep the opening stable."

"Wow...", droned Yomi as her mind was off silently cursing and thanking the gods for making Chiyo so mind-numbingly intelligent.

"...Ya see that tree Tomo?", Osaka said, pointing to the images flashing through the distortion.

"Yea, what about it?", Tomo asked, leaning dangerously close to the warp.

"I named it Shiro.", Osaka said, her eyes falling out of focus.

"It's ready!", Chiyo shouted, holding the paper on high.

"What's ready?", Tomo asked.

"This formula will stabilize the opening, so that we can get to Sakaki, Kaorin and Kagura.", Chiyo explained. "Hopefully.", she added as an afterthought.

"Sounds fun.", Osaka said.

"Ok! Here we go.", Chiyo said as she inserted the paper into the distortion.

Inside, the paper quickly dissapated and the girls waited.

"Man, that sucked.", Tomo said after a few seconds.

Chiyo began to weep in grief which caused Yomi to pat the girl on the back for comfort.

"Well, I tried...", Chiyo sniffled before Tomo began to speak.

"Hey! Look there!", she yelled, pointing at the warp.

Looking closer, each girl noticed that the two reoccuring images, a verdant plain and what seemed to be a tundra, were beginning to intermingle. The two images bled into one another before the entire column flashed a bright white and stabilized in that manner.

"What the hell!?", Tomo exclaimed.

"I...I hope this is what was supposed to happen.", Yomi said.

"I don't know...", Chiyo whimpered as she gazed upon the whirling white column that now took up nearly half the floorspace of her room.

"I really don't know..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinner had been brought to Sakaki about an hour ago. Even though it looked appetizing she hadn't touched the meal due to the fact that she didn't want to eat anything in a place as strange as this. Instead, after looking at the broiled fish and what seemed to be potatoes she placed it on the ornate nightstand and wandered to the window.

From that vantage point she could see that the palace was set up as a panopticon. The courtyard contained an elabourate marble fountain in a complex geometric pattern. Even the cobblestones looked to be made of some expensive stone. The square palace itself was illuminated with a form of artificial illumination. Whether it was electricity or not, Sakaki could not tell. Even in her room the illumination seemed to come from an unseen source.

As beautiful as it all was, she knew she could not stay. She was sure her friends were having a fit of worry over her. Escpecially poor little Chiyo, who had always been like the little sister she always wanted but never had. This thought caused a mist to cross Sakaki's eyes. She had to leave immediately, but how?

She heard the door click open behind her and when she turned she saw the two men who had escorted her earlier enter.

"Hello.", she said with a smile.

They did not respond. They simply drew their short swords and set upon her.

Reacting with her athletic ability, she dodged the first thrusts and raced to the other side of the room. The first man came at her, swinging at her midsection. Sakaki rolled past the blow and recovered her feet, but was struck by what felt like many volts of electical current. She saw the men react in a similar manner, so she knew she was not alone in the feeling.

A moment later, the massive form of a conifer tree burst through the floor, impaling the first man atop its thick branches. Sakaki dodged out the door as the ground shook again and a sharp rock burst into the other soldier. As she ran through the palace, it was in total chaos. Expensively garbed people surried about, crying and screaming. Sakaki was also on the verge of tears as she searched for the exit. The ground constantly rumbled and she watched as trees, rocks and hills erupted from the ground seemingly from nowhere. She dodged bloodied bodies and objects that flew up from the ground. She watched many of the people running in a certain direction, so she was enticed to follow. Following the group, she ran through hallways of once-gorgeous statues, many of them little more than rubble. Double doors stood up ahead of her, she saw the vast night as the first people passed through them. Sakaki lingered at the entrance, fighting the need to exit, in order to make sure all that had followed the group had gotten out safely. Upon seeing a small boy exit, she quickly darted out the door

and into complete emptiness.

Darkness all around her, and behind her, nothing more than line after line of symbols and numbers. Emblazoned upon the blackness in neon green, formulae stretched as far as her vision could see, yet in front of her there was nothing at all.

Nothing until two forms burst from the darkness.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bearded men had just finished supper. Kaorin and Kagura, bound with their hands behind their backs, dreaded the upcoming moments. The large man with the red beard spoke first.

"I like the tall one. Erik can have the little one first.", he grinned.

"That doesn't bother me. She's pretty cute.", Erik said, kissing Kaorin coarsely. Kaorin turned her head away from the hairy man, his breath reeked of alcohol and that made Kaorin want to vomit.

Kagura was kicking the other man away from her as he tried to obscenely touch her breasts. The other men of the group simply cheered them on as they sat in a drunken stupor.

Kaorin tried to crawl away, but without the use of her ahnds it was far too difficult to escape the man who was slowly molesting her body. She cried as she kicked back at him.

Then an electric feeling passed through her. A slight pain that left behind a cold feeling. At first she thought the unthinkable had happened, but that thought was quickly dispelled as the first bits of ground began to roil and shift, forming hills that were not there moments ago.

The men fell back as the hills grew, Kagura and Kaorin wre propelled down the other side by the unstoppable force of gravity. Along the way, the friction caused Kagura's ties to become undone. At the bottom, amongst what seemed to be towers pushing through the loam and out of the mountains themselves Kagura picked up Kaorin and ran. She ran like never before. She ran away from the men, sweating profusely and covered in dirt that rained from the newly formed towers. As she entered the forest, she looked back to see the men thrown into the air by an ornate building that pushed its way out of the ground as if the earth itself was giving birth.

Even in a situation as dire as this, Kaorin still blushed being this close to Kagura's...'signature parts'.

Light shone through the forest up ahead and Kagura pushed herself along the undulating ground and towards the light.

That light lead into darkness.

A darkness so vast it was incomprehensible.

But behind them was a vast display of figures and formulae as if the figures were pressed upon the inky blackness itself.

Kaorin let out a yelp that alerted Kagura to another presence before them.

"Sakaki-san!!!", Kaorin erupted into joyous, crying laughter.

Sakaki reached them within moments and the three shared a short-lived reunion within the darkness.

"Where the hell are we?", Kagura asked.

"I don't know.", Sakaki answered.

"Where were you Sakaki-san? I was so worried you were hurt!", Kaorin yelped.

"I was..."

She was interrupted by a vast blast of light that caught the attentions of all.

A doorway in the darkness opened. On the other side, they could see a room. Chiyo-chan's room.

They each seemed posessed, Sakaki simply gave a confirming look to Kagura before she and Kagura, still carrying Kaorin, dashed through the gateway.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They crashed through on the other side to the pure joy of all their friends who were present.

"Oh my! Everyone is ok!", Chiyo screeched, weeping in joy now instead of grief.

Sakaki had just finished freeing Kaorin from the ropes binding her hands when the shining white portal caved in upon itself.

It was gone, totally disappeared.

"Wow, Chiyo-chan. You broke the universe.", Tomo commented moments before a quake shook the entire island of Honshu.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a crack opened below him Emperor Desmildan wept openly into the sky.

"Our Saviour! Where did you go!?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Yay! Now that everyone is safely back to where they should be, what more terrors may befall them? The consequences of opening the portal of course! Stay tuned!**

**Kaorin: You just can't stop harassing us, can you?**

**Jay: It's my job though. I have to make my writing exciting.**

**Kaorin: You can make it exciting by making me and Sakaki-san...(blushes and runs off)**

**Jay: (takes notes) Make you and Sakaki-san fight to the death...got it.**


	7. A Consiquence for the Angelic

**Sorry it's so short. I've been trying to work out ideas for my next fic. I've been thinking of writing a 'super-fic'. i.e. a story far longer and complex than any of my other ones. It'll essentially be the tale of a class trip gone wrong. Either that story or a sequel to "The Battle of Thermopylae". One or the other (maybe both!). Anyhow, this one isn't over yet so...**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_As quoted in the Mathematica Obscura:_

_"Thus closing the passage prematurely, by any means, leads to a dangerous tear in the fabric of the universal matrix that must be repaired only through the sacrifice of that who created it."_

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they ran from the rumbling house, they met Chiyo's father at the bottom landing of the main stairway. He grabbed young Chiyo-chan and hurried the girls outside so as not to have the house collapse upon them.

Even outside the world shattered. They watched as houses tumbled to rubble and people screamed and cried for loved ones and their treasured posessions. As the group reached the road one of the massive trees in the front yard tumbled into the surrounding brick wall with a resounding crash that sent pieces of rock dangerously close to the heads of the girls.

They turned in time to watch the trimmed yard crack and fall. A ravenous sinkhole dragged down the entire Mihama compound in one fell swoop. The once beautiful house seemed to fold in half lengthwise as the ground dropped beneath it. The foundation was nothing but a nusance for the terrible quake. Chiyo clutched her father and wept as the house was dragged into the depths of the hole, taking all their posessions with it. The only things the Mihamas had any longer was Mr. Tadakichi and the clothes on their backs.

In terror, they all watched the debris fall. The quake stopped. All was eerily still as the group stared in disbelief. Even Tomo was speechless.

Tears began to well up in the eyes of Mr. Mihama as Chiyo continued to cry feverishly into his shoulder.

"All gone...", he stated simply.

"All gone."

Tomo walked slowly over to the pit.

"Wow...you can't even see the bottom. I wonder if the Molemen took your house, Chiyo-chan.", she stated.

"Shut the hell up!", Yomi screamed, applying her well known uppercut liberally to Tomo's face at that moment.

A small crowd had gathered around the once proud home. The only sounds were Chiyo-chan's weeping and sirens in the distance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much changed during the following months. The Mihama family moved into a temporary residence in an upscale apartment complex nearer to the center of Tokyo, yet still close enough to school so Chiyo could walk. Although none of the girls mentioned to Chiyo the events that had transpired, (this is an untrue statement. Tomo did mention it once, in the context of treasure hunting, but any further examples were quieted quite violently by Yomi's fist.) Chiyo-chan's once bubbly demeanor had quickly plummeted. She moped around, carrying her feelings of guilt as if it was the world. To her though, it was the world. She had been a destroyer. She had allowed for the destruction to happen. She knew that she was the sole actor behind the terrible events and deaths of many people.

Only those present knew of what had occured. Chiyo-chan hadn't even told her father that she was the cause of the loss of their house and the destruction of many buildings and people in Japan.

"Chiyo-chan always looks so sad nowadays..", Osaka mused during lunch.

"Well, she did break the universe.", Tomo pointed out.

"Oh, shut up!", Yomi said, smacking the back of Tomo's head. "We should cheer her up."

"Why...? She DID break the universe.", Tomo countered.

"It's not her fault! She didn't know what would happen. You should be happy she even tried to save you. Putting her life on the line like she did.", Yomi said.

"Pfft...fine then. What do you want to do?", Tomo asked.

"Throw a party?", Osaka suggested through a mouthful of noodles.

"No, I have a better idea.", Yomi said.

"And...?", Tomo asked impatiently.

"How about we get as much of Chiyo-chan's posessions back as we can? You know, from where her house used to be."

Tomo sat, shocked that her friend would suggest such a daring plan. Her chopsticks clattered to the table.

"ALL RIGHT!!!", she screamed.

"What do they call that again? Spunkin'? Or...was that spoonking?...", asked Osaka, her eyes becoming misty.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	8. Legitimate Theatre

**Since this is the final chapter, I would like to speak a bit about the previous one. In the original manuscript I had thought to end the quake scene differently. You see, orginally I had thought to...**

**(Walks into a room surrounded by armed guards and barricades himself inside a metal safe within a cage of bulletproof glass)**

**Originally, I had thought to _kill off Chiyo-chan._**

**That is correct, I had thought to do the _unthinkable._ Afterwards I decided that poor Chiyo was far too young and innocent for me to kill. So, luckily for Chiyo-chan she just _happens _to (arguably) be the most adorable little anime girl that has ever existed. **

**Anyhow, just thought I'd spill the beans about that. **

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

The other girls agreed to the plan immediately.

"Sure, I'll help.", Sakaki nodded.

With Sakaki going, Kaorin was more than able to assist in any way she could.

"Count me in!", Kagura answered excitedly.

"Awesome! With everyone coming I'm sure we can find something!", Tomo exclaimed.

"Why didn't Chiyo let the police search the pit?", Sakaki asked, mentioning the event that occured shortly after the quake in where Chiyo-chan did not want the police to search for any items they could retrieve from the hole. She stated that the items would be 'too difficult.' and 'Not worth the effort'. Her parents consented due to the fuss Chiyo had put up about it.

"I dunno.", Tomo said, thinking hard (you could almost hear the gears grind).

Everyone sat silently in contemplation for a few moments.

"The books.", Osaka piped in.

"Oh, yea! That's right!", Kagura said.

"It's not like very many people would understand them except for her. But I can see why she would be concerned.", Yomi said, visualizing the complex formulae that she could not even begin to comprehend.

"So, we're just gonna try our best to get all her crap back, right guys!?", Tomo said, standing up from her chair.

"Yeah!", came the unanimous shout.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The former Mihama compound had been cordoned off by police tape since the event three months ago. Yet it did not take much effort for the girls to bypass the blockade and enter the ruined courtyard.

Peering into the hole, Yomi began to have second thoughts.

"It looks...deeper than I remember.", she gulped.

"Aw, c'mon Yomi! Don't be a party pooper!", Tomo slapped her friend on the back, nearly knocking her off balance.

Yomi teetered on the edge before regaining her footing. Needless to say, Tomo felt the consiquence of her actions.

"Wow...it looks spooky.", Kaorin commented, noting that the bottom of the pit was not visable whatsoever, even with the sun plenty high in the sky the bottom was still a mystery.

"I wonder what it's like down there...", Osaka said, on her hands and knees looking directly into the center of the hole. It seemed to everyone else that she probably could see the bottom, with the look she got sometimes it's a wonder she can't see through solid rock.

"Do you wanna go first, Osaka?", Kagura asked, holding up a coiled length of rope around her arm.

"Oh, no. I'm 'fraid of the dark. Yep yep. Sometimes...", she got that look in her eyes. Her famous 'Thinking Look' as Tomo had christened it. "...Sometimes I don't even close my eyes when I sleep."

"O...kay. Who does want to be the first one down there?", Kagura held the rope again with an expectant grin.

"I'll do it.", Sakaki spoke up.

"All right, Sakaki!", Kagura congratulated the taller girl prematurely.

"I'llgotoo!", Kaorin quickly interjected, putting herself between Sakaki and Kagura.

"Sorry Kaorin.", Kagura expounded. "Only enough rope for one person."

"Dammit!", Kaorin growled and stalked back to her original position.

As preparation, Kagura handed Sakaki a large flashlight, which she stowed in the waistband of her pants. She then tied the rope around her waist and Kagura did the same, acting as ballast. In her hands Kagura held the massive coil of rope.

"Ready?", Kagura asked.

Sakaki nodded.

"Pull the rope once if you want more slack. And pull twice to let me know to pull you up ok?

"Be careful, Sakaki-san!", Kaorin warned.

Sakaki held onto the rope as Kagura kept it taut but allowed enough to pass through her fingers so that Sakaki repelled down the side of the pit and was soon lost from sight.

Kaorin gulped down a lump in her throat.

It seemed as if the air became far colder the further Sakaki descended into the pit. It was over five minutes of constant descent before her feet touched horizontal ground once more.

Taking the flashlight from her waistband she shined the wide beam around before her. What she saw made her heart jump. It was Chiyo-chan's home, yet it had fallen into a sort of rubbled arch. Not much of it was redily distinguishable, but the concrete and wood had formed a sort of unsteady arch that seemed to lead further into the wrecked home.

Sakaki shivered at the cold and began to walk towards the structure. The rope quickly grew too taut so she pulled it once, letting Kagura give her extra slack.

She followed the bobbing beam of her light under the arch. She began to hear things. Whispers that she recognized.

_'Our Saviour! You've returned!'_, whispered one.

_'What happened!? Tell us what happened!'_, cried one.

_'My baby! My...'_, sobbed another.

She stopped in her tracks to shake off the feeling of dread that had caused her to grit her teeth in agony for the strange souls she had met in the other world.

The debris formed a wall to her left as she walked. Along the path she noticed that up ahead there seemed to be a light source. She moved silently, fearing any encounter in such a lothsome place. Passing over a stack of broken chairs and concrete blocks she entered an eerie scene. The columns from the house's front porch had formed a cross shape at the far end of an open clearing that contained little debris, but it did contain the flickering remains of the open portal.

The white passageway seemed to have absorbed anything it had touched. Even large rocks were dragged slowly towards the center of the opening only to disappear forever. Sakaki was on the verge of tears. Nothing of any moral value remained. It seemed as if all of Chiyo-chan's material posessions had been absorbed into the ether.

She flashed her light around, just to make sure. She was glad she did. For lying mere inches from the warp was a photo. A photo of Chiyo and all her friends that they had taken one day after school. Sakaki remembered it fondly, the first picture of all of them together.

Herself, Chiyo-chan, Kagura, Tomo, Yomi, Kaorin, Osaka...

She simply could not let that go.

She inched closer to the unstable displacement and reached her hand towards the photo.She could feel the warp overtaking her. It was calling. Calling like an almost indescribable tone. Yet, she wrapped her fingers around that photo and ran. She bolted from the temptation pouring out of the dimensions. The hate, love, pain, pleasure...all of it.

_'Not forgotten...not forgotten.'_, it called.

She tugged the rope twice.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ok, here we go! Brace yourselves and pull!", Kagura instructed.

It took the might of all the girls to hoist Sakaki from that dismal pit. Kaorin couldn't help but squeal with delight when Sakaki returned to the surface safely.

"So, how was it?", Tomo asked.

Sakaki held up the picture she had retrieved and smiled.

"That's it!?", Tomo exclaimed. "Weak..."

Yomi promptly railed her over the head with a wicked knucklepunch.

"You idiot! That was Chiyo-chan's favourite photo! She treated that like a treasure."

"Oh, yea...but I'd rather have gold.", Tomo shrugged.

"You're so cool, Sakaki-san! Exploring the unknown like that.", Kaorin wobbled on her feet, blushing and looking a bit faint.

"I guess we should bring it to her.", Kagura suggested.

All agreed, setting off towards Chiyo-chan's new home.

Many metres below them, the curse of the passage still lived.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken nearly twenty minutes to reach Chiyo's new apartment. The sun was just dipping below the horizon when they entered the well-decorated lobby of the complex.

"Hmm...Mihama...floor 10 room 206.", Yomi said after regarding the apartment map.

"RACE YOU UP!", Tomo challenged.

"YOU GOT IT!", Kagura agreed as both bolted up opposite stairwells.

Yomi and the others simply touched floor ten on the elevator and rode up without undue muscle strain.

"Why do they always do that?", Kaorin whispered to Yomi.

"If I knew, I probably wouldn't be as sane as I am."

The door 'pinged' and slid open, revealing a green carpeted hallway lined with doors.

All was quiet, but not for long.

Screaming at the top of her lungs, Tomo came barelling down the hallway. From the opposite direction came Kagura, both striving to be the first to reach door 206. Needless to say, both made it together. Yet, the collision resulted in bloody noses for both. Of course, that wouldn't slow Tomo down in the least.

"Oh, freakin' score! I totally won!"

"You did not!", Kagura retorted.

"Yes I did!"

"Enough!", Yomi commanded before knocking politely on the door.

Moments later the door swung open to reveal Chiyo-chan, her hair down from her pigtails and looking up at them with rather tired eyes.

"Hello everyone.", she smiled.

"Hi, Chiyo-chan.", chorused the group.

"Would you like to come inside?", she asked.

She escorted them into the new apartment that was strangely small. Since much of their posessions had been destroyed, the rooms were fairly bare. A small television and beds took up most of the bedrooms. Otherwise, the only other posessions seemed to be the food in the small kitchen. Chiyo led them into the bedroom she had to share with her father, who was not home at the moment.

"Man, this place is empty as hell.", Tomo noted.

"It's like another world...", Osaka commented.

Yomi simply glared.

Chiyo chuckled slightly at the comments.

"It's very nice of you guys to pay me a visit."

"Our pleasure, Chiyo-chan. You have seemed very depressed lately and we can't leave you like that!", Yomi said.

"Yea! So we raided your house and brought you this!", Tomo said, holding out the picture.

The others could simply infer how she had obtained it. For all they knew, Sakaki had it the entire time.

Chiyo-chan didn't say a word. She just stared.

"Yo, Chiyo-chan? Did you die or something?", Tomo prodded.

Chiyo's eyes filled with tears and she began to cry.

"Ah, damn! She doesn't like it!", Tomo exclaimed.

Chiyo shook her head.

"No.", she sniffled. "I love it. You are all so...", she rushed to each girl in turn, wrapping her arms around them and squeezing.

"I love you all.", she said, holding the photo far enough away so her tears would not smudge it.

Yomi pat the girl on the back.

"Everyone makes mistakes, Chiyo-chan. Don't blame yourself for what you didn't know."

"Yea, it's not like you knew you were gonna break the universe.", Tomo chimed in.

"Even with all that happened.", Sakaki said. "You are such a loving, caring individual that fate would not even think of blaming you for what you did. You have learned from the experience, and as long as you have learned all the harm done has made you a better person."

"Thank you all!", Chiyo said, her bright smile returning once more.

Yet, Osaka did not join in the festivities just yet. Her mind had felt a pulse, a reaction.

"It's over.", she whispered.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beneath the earth, the portal flashed once, flashed twice and was gone. All the souls gone with it, returned from whence they came. All was at peace, all had been calmed by an act of altruism. Just as dimensions are seperated simply by levels of conciousness, thus the gateway can be dissolved by ascending to those levels. Acts of compassion and friendship open one's mind to these reactions. Simply stop for a moment next time you perform an act of compassion and register the feeling. It is far different from any other, a feeling of ecstacy.

Chiyo-chan, your soul has been reborn. Let the fire within burn.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**I hope this story was enjoyable. Next up, I hope to write my 'super-fic' that involves Ms. Yukari's class winning a class trip around the world and all the funny, odd (supernatural), and all the events that eventually connect to an ancient mystery long forgotten. **

**Either that or my sequel to "The Battle of Thermopylae" in which the aliens have won and captured the students as 'great warriors' to be exploited to do the alien's bidding in battle. **

**So, if either sounds good to you say so. It's a lot easier to decide when one stands out as being more worthwhile for everyone to enjoy! See you then!**

-Jay


	9. Special Chapter: The Unthinkable

**I hereby present to thee the sadder ending to the story. Probably the saddest thing I've ever written (even sadder than killing Kagura in 'The Battle of Thermopylae'). A real tearjerker, made me sad even while writing it. **

**Anyhow, I present what was originally going to be the ending.**

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

_As quoted in the Mathematica Obscura:_

_"Thus closing the passage prematurely, by any means, leads to a dangerous tear in the fabric of the universal matrix that must be repaired only through the sacrifice of that who created it"  
_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They rushed from the room with the first few tremors. The ground heaved, making moving difficult. Although difficult for everyone, it seemed escpecially harsh on Chiyo. The poor girl couldn't seem to move steadily. As the others ran a few metres ahead, Sakaki stayed back to steady the girl as she tried to run, but even then Chiyo fell with nearly every step.

"Chiyo-chan! We have to run!", she shouted.

Sakaki managed to yank the smaller girl behind her. This was not the time to be worrying about if she was hurting her or not. The ceiling cracked and the girls were forced to dodge falling rock, wood and plaster. Sakaki noticed that up ahead Chiyo's father was escorting the other girls down the stairway and waiting at the top to make sure his little girl made it out alright.

The rumbles continued, Sakaki was struck in the small of her back by a large piece of falling stonework. The pain siezed her and caused her to tumble to her knees. In falling, she had released her grip on Chiyo's hand, it was none of her own fault; it was simply reflexes.

She saw as Chiyo's father rushed towards the girls.

That was when Chiyo began to scream.

"They want me! They need me!! They want me back!", her voice screetched louder than any of the rumbles of shaking earth or the falling of heavy masonry.

Sakaki turned, joining Chiyo's father in his mantra.

"Chiyo! CHIYO!"

They reached for her, stumbling, but she backed away from them holding her head and shutting her eyes tight as if protecting them from a sight far more sinister than anyone could imagine.

"AH! AH! They want me!". she screamed.

With a resounding 'crack' a large portion of the stone ceiling broke away, revealing the blue, cloudless sky above. The massive stone tumbled with amazing speed, crashing to the ground and covering Chiyo's entire form. Not a bit was left.

Chiyo's father screamed in terror and rushed to the rock, trying to pry it up yet no one on the face of the planet could ever hope to lift it. He wept bitterly, his tears staining the stone a deeper shade.

Sakaki simply tore the man to his feet as she heard the first cracks of the failing foundation.

"We have to leave or we are all going to die!", she reprimanded sternly.

Chiyo's father followed, his eyes glazed in disbelief.

Sakaki knew she would have time to cry later.

The two exited the door to see the other girls waiting beyond the courtyard wall. Upon reaching that position Sakaki and Mr. Mihama fell to their knees. He cried as Sakaki panted, catching her breath.

"Where's Chiyo-chan!?", Yomi asked in a panic, the sweat of terror visable on her skin.

All Sakaki needed to do was look into Yomi's eyes. The sadness exchanged between the two was evident. It seemed to spread to the others as well.

Each turned as a massive fissure opened below the foundation of the house. A small crowd had gathered to watch the Mihama compound fold in two, lengthwise, and dip into the vast pit in a stream of dust and debris.

As soon as the house passed from view, the rumbling stopped. The only sounds now were tears and sirens in the distance.

Sakaki took this moment to cry. The others followed suit. Even Tomo, the woman of no emotion besides happiness, broke down in tears. What was good to see though was how the group comforted one another amongst the rubble. Kaorin had knelt down to weep with Sakaki in a deep embrace that neither broke for quite a long time. Tomo and Yomi cried standing and leaning on one another for physical and moral support. Kagura and Osaka shared their tears with Mr. Mihama, who had obviously taken the loss the hardest.

Between sobs he repeated the girl's name.

"Chiyo..Chiyo..."

Upon one repetition he screamed the name and broke from Kagura's grip. He rushed to the edge of the pit and yelled into it, his voice heavily laden with grief.

"CHIYO! I'M COMING!"

Kagura had to bodily drag him back from the precipice where he once more broke down in tears.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Each and every girl chose not to be around when the police dragged Chiyo-chan's body from the wreckage. Rumours abounded how terribly grief stricken the parents' were when they saw the cold, broken corpse of their once-bright daughter. Some even said that the body came up in pieces, that parts were crushed or missing. None of this mattered to the girls. They simply greived in their own personal manner.

Since school had been cancelled until further notice due to the quake, the girls had much time to spend together. And thus they did. No matter what distractions they tried or how cheerful they were at one moment, the next inevitably turned to discussion about Chiyo and what she meant to them.

"She cared about me...Like..", Yomi sniffled. "..when you all went to Magical Land..she was so concerned over my sickness..."

"She always cheered me up...no matter what mistakes I made.", Kagura expounded, her face flush with tears.

"Man..she was even nice to me after all I did to her. How can one person be so nice?", Tomo said, her eyes filling with tears which she blinked back to keep them from being obvious.

"She was mah best friend...", was all Osaka said, crying like no one had ever seen her cry.

"She remembered me every year when she went to her summer home. Even when I said I had camp...she would still call and see if I could go.", Kaorin sniffled, wishing she could lie her head on Sakaki's shoulder once more.

Sakaki stayed in silent grief. The death had hit her hard. She had realized that Chiyo stood out to her as something far more than just a friend. She was her little sister. Not by blood, but instead by soul. She bonded easily with Chiyo, the one person that fully understood the 'true Sakaki'. And appreciated her, no matter what she did. There was no breaking that bond, Sakaki had definately lost someone she loved.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Mihama family had found an apartment in a small complex very near the school Chiyo had once gone to. It brought tears of bitter grief, but it was all they could afford on a tight budget.

The girls had come to the decision five days after the 'incident' to visit the Mihama family in their new homestead. They walked together, not wanting to seperate due to an irrational fear of losing another member of the group.

Yomi knocked lightly upon the door to room 206.

A man in a suit answered, his eyes haggard but with a smile he invited them in.

"Please come inside.", Mr. Mihama said.

He escorted the girls to the small living room where they managed to fit themselves on the couch. Mr. and Mrs. Mihama sat across from them, ragged smiles plastered on their faces.

Yomi was the first to speak after minutes of strained silence.

"We just want you to know...that this is as painful for us as it is for you. I'm sorry.", she bowed her head.

Mr. Mihama shook his head.

"No, it's not."

The girls stood agape.

"What?", Tomo said.

"Even though I'm sure it's tough for you girls, you lost a friend, we lost a daughter. It's not quite the same.", he responded.

"Hey, now wait just a minute!", Tomo argued.

"Enough...", Yomi said halfheartedly.

"Chiyo was an awesome friend! She was like family. She brightened my day and I would damn well hate to see what high school would have been like for me if she wasn't around. She kept me sane.", Tomo said.

Yomi was aghast at Tomo being honest and 'making sense'.

"Yes, Chiyo was more than just a simple 'friend'. She meant more to each of us than you could possibly imagine.", Yomi explained.

"She always remembered me, no matter what! She was the first person to ever see me as important!", Kaorin said with watery eyes.

Mr. and Mrs. Mihama simply sat in awe and let the girls talk.

"She inspired me to be a better person! To do something with myself.", Kagura said.

At that moment Osaka broke into tears and seemed to switch to an Osaka that no one had really ever seen.

"I loved her...I really loved her.", she continued to repeat.

Sakaki also took the oppertunity to explain her true feelings.

"She was my sister. I took care of her as my sister and she did the same for me. She saw me as myself and not as some creature to be gawked at..."

Whether Kaorin ignored or did not hear the last part, no one will ever know, but she did not make any retort then or ever.

The Mihama's joined the girls by their sides with comforting embraces.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry.", Mr. Mihama repeated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Life for everyone eventually moved on. Chiyo, although not forgotten, was accepted as not being amongst the living any longer. Humanity presses through past many tough times and everyone handles grief in a different manner. Chiyo-chan will be remembered fondly by those whom she showed love.

In reality though, Chiyo is not dead as we know it. The universe punishes those whom 'play god'. By opening the rift between worlds, as accidental as it may seem, the universe is not merciful. So, to this day Chiyo's spirit wanders within the endless abyss between worlds. Possibly someday to be seen by another illicit traveller.

_Chiyo Mihama_

_Died prematurely at the age of twelve October 15 in the earthquake that shook all of Japan._

_She will be missed by her friends and family. She was a sweet girl, liked by many. Gifted with intelligence at her young age she entered high school and was in her second year when she was taken from this Earth. Her friends describe her as a loving girl with a lust for knowledge and helping others. She one day hoped to be a social worker, to help as many people as she could. She will be missed._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

**...And that's why I don't write obituaries.**


	10. Special Chapter II: Deleted Scene

**It seems like I always get ideas before I go to bed. So, last night I came up with this idea. **

**I now present you with what I call a 'deleted scene'. **

**(I have to thank Lukevader for this concept. Inone of his reviews he mentioned something about Kaorin 'kicking the ass' of her captors.)**

**So, here you have it. Kaorin and Kagura vs. The Viking Captors.**

**Bad-ass Time!**

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"I will save my Sakaki-san!", Kaorin repeated like some sort of zombie as she approached the camp.

"Dammit, Kaorin!", Kagura hissed and sprinted after the girl.

Her footsteps must have been louder than she realized due to the fact that the four men sitting around the campfire stood and met the girls halfway, weapons drawn.

"How dare you stand between me and my Sakaki-san!?", Kaorin accosted the men.

The large, red haired man at the front of the pack grinned and then burst into a laughter that the others quickly picked up.

"Should be fun.", the man said before taking up his large battleaxe in a wide foward sweep which Kaorin deftly dodged by hopping backwards.

"What the hell are you doing Kaorin!?", Kagura screamed at the girl.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I'm saving my Sakaki-san.", Kaorin regarded the girl with eyes full of contempt.

The men rippled with laughter once more before the large 'leader' swung his axe in a vicious downward chop.

Seemingly without looking, Kaorin rolled under the blade just as it bit the earth. She took the moment's pause to deliver a brutal roundhouse kick to the man's midsection, sending him reeling backwards gasping for breath.

Kagura's eyes went wide for a moment, but only for a moment, for just then the other three men set upon Kaorin with their clubs and hand axes.

With the largeer man still hunched over from the blow he had recieved Kaorin had time to intercept the first oncoming man by deflecting his axe blow with the sole of her shoe before sending a straight punch to his larynx.

Another man approached her from behind with a club. Knowing that Kaorin could never hope to block the blow, Kagura stepped in. From a running start she launched into a flying kick that drove the man off balance and onto his face.

"Thanks.", Kaorin said beore taking up a fighting stance to face down the last oncoming man.

His downward axe swing was cut short by Kaorin grabbing his wrist and twisting it with great force in a very uncomfortable manner. He screamed in pain as his wrist bones snapped. Feigning a low punch, Kaorin retorted with a knucklepunch to the bridge of the nose. Blood sprayed across the girls as his nasal cavity collapsed under the blow. The man fell, unconcious.

By this time, the 'leader' had regained his composure and came at the girls, swinging his axe wildly. Kagura dodged under, the blade clipping her already short hair. She applied a massive punch to the groin. As the man collapsed, he managed to drop his weapon and grab Kagura in strong, gnarled hands. She tried to twist her weight to the left so as to escape, but he was stronger. He threw his body into a spin and landed atop the girl, pinning her.

Kagura applied blows to the man's face, bloodying his eyes and nose before he wrapped his hands completely around her throat and squeezed. For Kagura, the world was a morass of pain. Her eyes fluttered invoulentarily as the oxygen to her brain was slowly cut off. She was sure she was going to die.

But then the grip loosened.

The expression on the man's face turned from that of absolute hate to one of abject surprise and terror.

Looking beyond his head, Kagura saw Kaorin standing, her arm extended. She pulled her arm back with a 'splutch' sound and from the man's back came a bloody mass which Kaorin held in her hand. A moment later the man tumbled off Kagura, dead.

Kagura stood, rubbing at her throat and staring in disbelief at Kaorin.

In Kaorin's hand was the man's heart. It beat its last, spewing blood across the short grass. Upon its last beating, Kaorin threw the organ to the ground, stomping it with her foot and making a very disagreeable sound.

"Kaorin...how?", Kagura said, her mouth agape. Kaorin, in her eyes, was now about fifteen thousand times cooler than Sakaki could ever be.

"I get bored a lot. So, I decided to learn martial arts.", she giggled happily. "Now, to find my Sakaki-san!"

Kagura was sure. Sakaki would love Kaorin. They would make a perfect couple!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**So, how was that? I had to add it due to the lack of fighting in "Clockwork". Always nice to see schoolgirls beat up Vikings anyhow...**


End file.
